Today, wireless telecommunication carriers provide their customers various competitive options for obtaining mobile communication devices, such as smartphones. Some devices are carrier-locked, to restrict the devices to the particular wireless telecommunication carrier and a specific region. A user device may be carrier locked to a wireless communication carrier via a subscriber identity module (SIM) lock engine that is located within the modem of the user device. The restrictions may be formalized via an equipment installment plan (EIP) or equipment lease.
One of the reasons a wireless telecommunication carrier locks a communication device to a particular carrier is because these devices may be offered at a discount to customers in exchange for a contract to pay for the use of the network for a predetermined time period. The agreements may be formalized via an equipment lease or installment plan, collectively referred to herein as an equipment installment plan (EIP). This subsidized device business model allows the wireless telecommunication carrier to recoup the cost of the communication device during the term of the contract.
To prevent a subsidized communication device from being used on an alternate network (e.g., for a lower fee) or from its various features to be used without making requisite payments (e.g., the phone may be stolen), the communication device may be locked and/or its access to the communication network of the telecommunication carrier restricted by the wireless telecommunication carrier to mitigate the disruption of the business model. For example, a nefarious actor may attempt to exploit the value of a user device provided by a wireless telecommunication carrier without having made the requisite payments, such as attempting to sell an unpaid user device still under an EIP to a person who may swap the original subscriber identity module (SIM) card for another. In another scenario, an EIP subscriber may fall behind on or avoid making payments (e.g., incur a “bad debt”) while still attempting to take advantage of various functionality of the user device on another wireless telecommunication carrier and/or with ubiquitous Wi-Fi. Once a user device is restricted by an infrastructure of the telecommunication carrier, it is difficult to restore the functionality of the user device.